This fall, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) will present the SAIC Faculty Sabbatical Triennial exhibition, featuring a wide range of work across multiple disciplines created by nearly 40 faculty who have completed a sabbatical or other paid leave over the past three academic years. Gallery-based presentations, lectures and events, and a dedicated website represent the research and practices of these SAIC faculty members.

“Sabbaticals are often a time for inquiry, experimentation, and production to help faculty sustain their instructional and professional practices,” said Staci Boris, director of exhibitions and curator of the exhibition. “Many of the sabbaticals were impacted by the pandemic, yet the work produced during this time is exceptionally inspiring as faculty embraced the uncertainty, looked to the familiar, and explored new ways of making.”

The Triennial, which opens August 31 at SAIC Galleries, and related programs celebrate the unrelenting creativity and resilience of SAIC’s renowned faculty. The exhibition includes several new works that have never been on view, including a painting from Candida Alvarez that will be making its Chicago debut. Participating faculty include Candida Alvarez, Aimée Beaubien, jonCates, Nic Collins, Romi Crawford, Kate Dumbleton, Stephen Farrell, Elizabeth Freeland, Pablo Garcia, Maria Gaspar, Diana Guerrero-Maciá, Anne Harris, Claudia Hart, Myungah Hyon, Mark Jeffery, Bruce Jenkins, Linda Keane, Lora Lode, Anke Loh, Lou Mallozzi, Ruth Margraff, William J. O’Brien, Mary Patten, Claire Pentecost, Dushko Petrovich, Frank Piatek, Dan Price, Eia Radosavljevic, Melissa Raman Molitor, David Raskin, Scott Reeder, Katrin Schnabl, Jim Trainor, Lan Tuazon, Oli Watt, Bess Williamson, Beth Wright, and Andrew S. Yang.

This 2022 edition of the Triennial marks the first in a newly conceived series dedicated to faculty work, which will occur every three years at SAIC Galleries as the featured exhibition of the fall semester. The 2022 SAIC Faculty Sabbatical Triennial is organized by Staci Boris, director of exhibitions, and Graduate Curatorial Assistants Clayton Kennedy (Dual MA 2023) and Christine Magill (Dual MA 2023). 

Free and open to the public | Exhibition Web Page: https://sites.saic.edu/facultysabbatical/